The invention relates to a fall arrester having damping and damping element for a fall protection device which can be installed by use of fixation means which do not penetrate the roof as well as a fall protection device which comprises several fall protectors which are connected with a fall arrester respectively.
Fall arrester and fall protection systems serve for the safeguard of persons which work on roofs and other higher arranged regions. At roofs which are entered only for installation and maintenance works or for the purpose of green covering of the roof mostly permanent handrails are relinquished and a fall arrester is installed. Due to security reasons the people who work on a roof without handrails must be secured by means of a cable which is fixed at a fall arrester.
At the installation of a fall arrester on a flat roof it is preferably done without fixation means and fixation points which penetrate the roof surface and its isolation layers. The omission of fixation points which penetrate the roof construction has the big advantage that the single layers of the roof construction are not influenced. Thus, the installation of the fall arrester does not influence the impermeability of the roof. In the case of a fall the fall arresters should minimise the distance of the free fall and the fall of the secured person should be damped as far as possible.
From the state of the art different fall arresters are known which can be installed and which does not penetrate the roof, i. e. fall arresters which can be installed without employment of fixation means which penetrate the roof construction.
For roofs with roof load document DE 201 09 056 U1 discloses a installable fall arrester without penetrating the roof which consists of a plane rest with a texture structure (resting surface) as well as loops which are fixed at the resting surface. The fall arrester is positioned above the roof tightening plane and is charged by the green covering construction, wherein the loops are guided upwards for the fixation of the securing cable through the green covering construction.
The utility model HU 3070U relates to a fall arrester with lightning protection function which can be installed without penetration of the roof. The holders of the fall arrester consist of a respective rest area which is arranged in a plane as well as a post which is guided vertically upwards. Above the rest area of each fall arrester holder a load receiving layer is arranged. The load receiving layer is charged by a load so that depending from the weight of the load the sliding movement of the fall arrester is hindered. For example, the load can consist of a multi-layer green covering construction.
For obtaining an optimised damping the holder of the fall arrester as known from HU 3070U consists essentially respectively of a one-piece steel profile which is at first formed to an arch with circular or polygonal form which is arranged in a plane, wherein the round steel is guided still prior the final integration of the arch in radial direction to the centre point of the arch and from the centre point perpendicular in vertical direction. The vertical section has a fixation element at the upper end section for the fixation of a securing cable. With a respective grounding such a fall arrester holder can also serve as a lightening protection device. This applies especially for a fall arrester system consisting of several of the aforesaid holders which are connected with another by an electrically conductive wire rope.
Document DE 103 33 113 A1 discloses a fall arrester which can be installed without penetration of the roof for roofs with roof load which comprise a resting surface and a post which is connected with the same and which projects beyond a surface of the restring surface, wherein the post comprises a fixation element in a section which is remote from the resting surface and projecting beyond the roof load for securing of a falling load which it to be protected against falling. The fall arrester comprises a load receiving layer which is dedicated as a basis for at least a part of the roof load. The load receiving layer is connected with the resting surface so that in the region of the resting surface a multi-layer construction is created. The load receiving layer which projects laterally beyond the resting surface is dimensioned in such a manner that the fall arrester which is charged with the roof load holds the falling load which acts at the fixation element. The load receiving layer can form one of the layers of the multi-layer green covering of the roof.
To avoid that the part of the plate which is remote from the fall load is not or only reduced lifted from the ground the post which belongs to the fall arrester known from DE 103 33 113 A1 is not rigid but comprises a hinge or a spring. Alternatively, the post and the fixation element which is provided for the fixation of the securing cable can be respectively designed in such a manner that the same show a visible deformation after charging by the fall load and so effect a damping load initiation. The damping of a fall is also effected by a certain displacement (compare paragraph 14) of the fall arrester in the direction of the falling load.
At the device as disclosed in DE 103 33 113 A1 the post is connected with the base plate by a post receiving element (compare FIG. 6 reference numeral 36) or by a thread (compare FIG. 10 reference numeral 30), wherein the post is not stabilised in both cases by additional means in the region of its surface shell. The base plate can comprise an upper and a bottom part, wherein the load receiving layer is arranged between both so that limited to the region of the base plate a multi-layer construction is given.
The post, the fixation element or the base plate with which the post is connected can consist at the fall arrester as known from DE 103 33 113 A1 of every weather-proof material which withstands the relevant strain. Preferably the mention parts consist of metal. Only in case that the post should be deformable glass fiber reinforced plastic of hard rubber is proposed as the material for the post. Plane glass fiber reinforced material which forms a part of the load receiving layer and/or of the base plate is not disclosed in DE 103 33 113 A1. The device and its parts respectively as disclosed in DE 103 33 113 A1 comprise also no predetermined breaking points.
A safety device is known from DE 60 2004 010846 T2 (=EP 1 803 871 A2) which consist of a slack rag and two flange-like parts. The flange-like parts which serve as stand area of the device lay upper-side and bottom-side at the slack rag which serves as ballast receiving element and thus have a multi-layer construction in the region of the base plate. The flange-like parts are connected by fixation means. The fixation means for the fixation of the securing cable comprises an eye at the upper side or is connected with a post. However, the post is not stabilised by the flange-like parts in the region of its surface shell. At a preferred embodiment the two flange-like parts as disclosed in DE 60 2004 010846 T2 comprise insections and perforations which cause a plastic deformation of the flange-like parts in the case of a fall and thereby can damp a fall. Plane glass fiber reinforced material which form a part of the load receiving layer and/or the base plate is not disclosed in DE 60 2004 010846 T2.
Further fall arresters which can be installed without penetration of the roof are known from EP 2 279 031 B1 and WO 2007/089139 A2 as well as from US 2011/0005150 A1, DE 10 2006 054 408 A1 and EP 1 690 567 A2.
At the above mentioned fall arresters which can be installed without penetration of the roof a limited spatial displacement of the fall arrester is admissible in the case of a fall in line with security guidelines. The limited spatial displacement can be understood as controlled sliding movement, wherein beneficially the sliding movement effects a damping of the fall and thereby beneficially reduces the stress in the single parts as well as the stress in the securing cable and the securing gear as well as the loads which act onto the falling person.
From document DE 10 2008 012 232 A1 is the use of the fall arrester is known as described in HU 3070U in connection with portable ballast element as a transportable fall arrester. At this transportable fall arrester the rest area of the respective fall arrester holder is not charged by the bulk good which belongs to the green covering of the roof but by several ballast elements which are connected with the fall arrester during the use of the fall arrester, i. e. temporarily.
At the transportable fall arrest as disclosed in DE 10 2008 012 232 A1 it is provided that section of the fall arrester which is running in vertical direction is at least partially surrounded by an elastic material in the region or section which is surrounded by the ballast elements. The material which consists preferably of a cylindrical rubber section causes an additional damping in the case of stress and should prevent a perpendicular bending of the holding of the cable in the region of the upper edge of the ballast elements. Instead by the rubber section a rather rounded bending of the section of the fall arrester which runs in vertical direction is obtained. Detrimentally, the elastic material which functions as bending protection and which surrounds partially the vertical running post section of the fall arrester creates no relevant damping effect in the case of a fall. As known from the other fall arresters as known from the state of the art the damping is caused at the fall arrester as known from DE 10 2008 012 232 A1 in the case of a fall only by the deformation of the helical bended post in the region of the rest area and by the limited displacement (controlled sliding movement) of the whole fall arrester which is charged by ballast elements.
However, the pre-known fall arresters which can be mounted without penetration of the roof have no additional measures for the damping of a fall which fall arresters are suitable to carry out a controlled sliding movement beside the respective deformable posts or holders of the cable.
Already different technical measures for the damping of falls are known from the technical field of the fall arresters which can be mounted with penetration of the roof (i. e. fall arresters which are firmly connected with the roof construction).
So, EP 2 216 466 A1 discloses a device which is firmly connected with the roof and which can be installed by penetration of the roof at which a deformable section made of sheet metal can be integrated in the socle area (compare FIG. 22). The deformable section surrounds the post which runs upwards in the region of its surface shell and causes in the case of a fall an additional stabilisation of the post. EP 2 216 466 A1 does not disclose a plane glass fiber reinforced material which forms a part of the load receiving layer and thereby contributes for an improvement of the post anchorage and/or causes a stabilisation of the post.
DE 103 18 322 B2 discloses a fall arrester (stop point) which consists of a base plate and a post (holding rod) with attachment eye which is connected with the same. The stop point is firmly connected with the roof by the base plate (i. e. not free from a penetration of the roof). The surface shell of the post is surrounded by a plastically deformable sleeve. The sleeve causes that the post is not deformed already by the preload of the securing cables and that no undesired increase of the force takes place at a fall of a person in the securing cable. EP 2 216 466 A1 does not disclose a plane glass fiber reinforced material which forms a part of the load receiving layer and thereby contributes for an improvement of the post anchorage and/or causes a stabilisation of the post.
GB 2 354 052 A discloses a stop point for a fall arrester. Each stop point is connected with the roof not free from a penetration of the roof by a fixation means (bolt) and comprises an elastomere element for the damping in the case of a fall which surrounds at least partially the surface shell of the post. GB 2 354 052 A does not disclose a plane glass fiber reinforced material which forms a part of the load receiving layer and thereby contributes for an improvement of the post anchorage and/or causes a stabilisation of the post.
None of the above mentioned documents of the state of the art discloses the improved damping properties of plane glass fiber reinforced material as a part of multi-layer fall arrester with post anchorage or a fall arrester with a post stabiliser.
Specifically, none of the documents discloses a multi-layer ballast element which corresponds concerning the design and the function to the fall arrester according to the invention, wherein at least one of the layers of the fall arrester consists of a glass fiber and/or carbon fiber reinforced composite material (FRP layer). Accordingly, the mentioned document does also not disclose the technical advantages which result when the single layer of a multi-layer construction are connected with another laminate-like at least in sections or when the single layers of the multi-layer section are enclosed by an outer cover consisting of FRP material.